Africa: Landmines

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Astor of Hever on 28 February (WA 203), of the landmines laid during World War II that remain to be cleared in North Africa, what estimate they have made of the proportion which were laid by (a) Allied forces, and (b) Axis forces.

Lord Astor of Hever: The Ministry of Defence cannot provide an authoritative figure for number of mines laid in north Africa, by either the Allied or Axis forces. Surviving contemporary documentation does not provide sufficient information to account either for the number of mines laid or the number that were subsequently cleared. Given the lack of detailed information, it is also not possible to provide an estimate of the proportion of mines laid in the region by either the Allied or Axis forces during World War II.

Agriculture: Farming

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the average payment made to farmers in England in the past financial year for which figures are available.

Lord Henley: The average claim value paid in England by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) in respect of the single payment scheme (SPS) for the 2009-10 financial year was approximately £17,600.
	SPS is significantly the largest scheme, by value, administered by RPA.

Armed Forces: Aircraft

Lord Davies of Stamford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their forecast of the savings that will be achieved by the scrapping of the Nimrod maritime surveillance aircraft.

Lord Astor of Hever: The Ministry of Defence (MoD) made estimates of the costs and savings accrued from measures in the strategic defence and security review for the purposes of formulating policy. It is estimated that not bringing Nimrod MRA4 into service will save around £2 billion over the next 10 years. Final savings figures will depend on detailed implementation, which will generally be subject to full consultation with all relevant parties, including industry, the trades unions and the devolved Administrations, as well as the results of mandatory assessments on the impact that the measures will have on sustainability, equality and diversity and health and safety.

Armed Forces: Foot Patrol

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the maximum proportion of bodyweight that infantry soldiers are expected to carry on foot patrol in Afghanistan.

Lord Astor of Hever: There is no limit setting the maximum proportion of bodyweight that infantry soldiers are expected to carry in Afghanistan. The load that troops are required to carry is dependent on a range of factors, including their role and the length of the patrol.

Armed Forces: Foot Patrol

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the recommended quantity of water to be carried by infantry on foot patrol in Afghanistan.

Lord Astor of Hever: There is no recommended quantity of water to be carried by infantry on foot patrols in Afghanistan. Commanders on the ground decide how much water should be carried, depending on a range of factors including the type and duration of patrol, distance from resupply points and current weather conditions.

Armed Forces: Foot Patrol

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many suspected insurgents have been detained by foot patrols following exchanges of fire in Afghanistan in the last six months.

Lord Astor of Hever: This information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Munitions

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government for how long small arms munitions are kept by the Armed Forces before being destroyed if not used.

Lord Astor of Hever: The shelf life of small arms ammunition varies and is dependent on the stability of the energetic (explosive) components it contains. Stability is affected by a number of factors including the environment in which the ammunition is stored and transported, the terrain across which it is transported, the vibration to which it is subjected and the extremes of temperature to which it is exposed. Small arms ammunition deployed on operations has a shelf life of up to six months. Stocks held in conditioned (environmentally controlled) storage generally have a shelf life of five to 10 years, which can be extended provided the ammunition remains safe and suitable for service. This is demonstrated through a rigorous in-service surveillance programme.

Armed Forces: Seriously Injured Personnel

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the military covenant with the Armed Forces results in adequate care being provided in all parts of the United Kingdom to those personnel discharged from the services due to injuries sustained in Afghanistan.

Lord Astor of Hever: Our Armed Forces are currently deployed to the most demanding areas of conflict and we have a responsibility to look after our people, veterans, and their families. We work very closely across government, and especially with the NHS, to ensure that any former member of the Armed Forces who has been injured in Afghanistan receives the support and care they require, wherever in the UK they live.
	The Armed Forces Bill, that has recently completed its Committee stage, will require my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Dr Fox) to report to Parliament annually on the Armed Forces covenant, including on healthcare issues.

Armed Forces: Women

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the number of British female soldiers assigned to work with female engagement teams in Afghanistan.

Lord Astor of Hever: There are four female engagement teams, each consisting of one permanent member and two additional members who also perform other duties. All are female soldiers. The two additional members of each team will shortly be assigned to their teams full time.
	We regularly assess the military capability required for operations in Afghanistan; however, beyond the measure described above, at present there are no plans to assign more soldiers to female engagement teams.

Big Society: Safeguarding Children

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government what help is available through the Big Society programme to organisations such as the Southern Brooks Community Partnership in Bristol to support families and encourage good parenting.

Lord Hill of Oareford: We are committed to the shift of power away from the centre to local areas so that local partners and communities can work together in partnership to design and commission the services that best meet the local needs of vulnerable families and encourage good parenting. It is not our role to prescribe how decisions on the delivery of local services should be made, though when local areas do commission services we expect local funding to make full use of those voluntary and community services that families trust.
	To help the sector meet the challenges we have invested £100 million in the transition fund to support voluntary and community sector organisations and social enterprises in making that transition to the new commissioning markets. In addition, the Department for Education is spending £59 million each year over the next two years to fund the voluntary and community sector to help deliver on key national priorities for children, young people and families.
	The Big Society Bank will play an important role in enabling front-line social ventures or civic society organisations to access new sources of finance. The bank, which will be independent of government, will act as a wholesale bank and will thus invest in providers via products developed by financial intermediaries. Some of the bank's functions will be in place by April 2011 and we expect the first investments to be made by mid-2011. The bank will be capitalised with around £400 million from dormant accounts as well as a £200 million injection from the largest UK banks.

Education: Creative Partnerships

Lord Smith of Finsbury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to continue the work of Creative Partnerships in schools, or to create something similar, after the withdrawal of funding in April.

Baroness Rawlings: The Arts Council strategic goal is to make certain that all children experience the richness of the arts. This goal will be supported through its national portfolio funding programme and the creation of a network of 10 strategic organisations. This is to act as the bridge between arts organisations and schools, families and children. This network of bridging organisations will develop an understanding of local opportunities for children to engage with the arts both in and out of school. It will also develop local networks to deliver a coherent arts and culture offer for children.

Education: Dance and Drama

Baroness Hooper: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many students currently benefit from the Dance and Drama Awards Scheme.

Lord Hill of Oareford: This is a matter for the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) which operates the Dance and Drama Awards for the Department for Education and manages the Capita contract. Peter Lauener, the YPLA's chief executive, has written to the noble Baroness with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Libraries.

Education: Nurseries

Lord True: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will reconsider their policy of disallowing top-up fees above the level of the Nursery Education Grant in private and voluntary nursery settings.

Lord Hill of Oareford: Local authorities have a statutory duty-under Section 7 of the Childcare Act-to secure nursery places free of charge, effectively prohibiting top-up fees. This ensures that there are no barriers to accessing the benefits of nursery education for all children, but particularly the most disadvantaged. Parents are free to purchase additional hours and services outside the hours for which providers receive funding from local authorities.
	The issue of top-up fees was debated (Official Report, col. 212) by the Committee considering the Education Bill on Tuesday 8 March when the Minister of State for Schools confirmed the existing position that top-up fees are not allowed.
	The Government are listening to the views of early years providers and their representative bodies concerning funding. In response we are seeking to improve the efficiency with which funding is distributed to providers, through the early years single funding formula, as well as through reducing bureaucratic burdens on providers who deliver free nursery education. Many providers will also be benefiting from other support that local authorities provide for early learning and care and providers will want to take into account this whole package of support before deciding whether delivering free places fits with their business model. Providers around the country are offering an excellent service to parents and their children within existing funding levels.

Elections: Armed Forces

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to include the right for servicemen and women on duty abroad to vote in person and in secret in United Kingdom elections and referenda in the military covenant.

Lord Astor of Hever: The Government are working to address the problems faced by service personnel and their families in voting in national and local elections. Service personnel in Afghanistan who choose to vote by post are the subject of our near term efforts. The Ministry of Defence and the Cabinet Office are working with the Electoral Commission, the British Forces Post Office (BFPO) and Royal Mail to facilitate the movement of ballot packs for the referendum and other elections taking place on 5 May 2011. For overseas locations other than Afghanistan, BFPO will aim to identify and fast-track ballot papers over which they have control.
	For the longer term, the Cabinet Office is looking at how changes to the timetable for elections would better support voters based overseas, including service personnel and their families.

Employment: Redundancy

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total resource allocated to meet the redundancy costs of employees working for regional development agencies in each of the years 2011-12, 2012-13, and 2013-14.

Baroness Wilcox: The spending review settlement for RDAs provides up to £100 million in 2011-12, £5 million in 2012-13 and £nil in 2013-14 to cover the costs of redundancies. It is not, however, possible to estimate firmly the amounts required because the number of staff who will be working on continuing functions (such as the European Regional Development Fund, the Rural Development Programme for England, foreign direct investment etc) has not been finalised and staff are also leaving on other bases such as through resignation.

Energy: Anaerobic Digestion

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to install anaerobic digestion plants in rural areas to the level currently found in Germany; by what date; and what assessment they have made of the likely impact of this on rural energy poverty and the release of methane.

Lord Marland: The coalition is committed to introducing measures to increase energy from waste through anaerobic digestion (AD). Our policy is focused on the use of waste to reduce the amount going to landfill, and so reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly from methane: capturing the biogas from one tonne of food waste will save up to 1 tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent. We also recognise the part AD can play in tackling energy poverty in rural areas where it may not be cost effective to connect to the gas grid. The Government are currently working with industry to draw up a joint programme of work to tackle the barriers to deployment of AD. This will be published in May 2011. We have already taken action to encourage AD by grandfathering support under the renewables obligation. This provides the certainty that investors are looking for. We are also looking at the feed-in tariffs scheme to see if the tariff rates are enough to make farm-based AD worth while. On 10 March we announced details of the renewable heat incentive which will support AD plants below 200 kWth.

Energy: Prices

Lord Stevens of Ludgate: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average annual generation cost of a kilowatt of electricity from (a) wind, (b) coal-fired, and (c) gas- fired generation.

Lord Marland: The table below is taken from Mott Macdonald (2010) and gives levelised cost estimates (average generation cost per megawatt-hour) for new build plants in the main large-scale electricity generation technologies in the UK, including both fossil fuel and low carbon plant, at current engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract prices.
	It should be noted that for the purposes of presentation, the table only gives either FOAK (first-of-a-kind) prices or NOAK (nth-of-a-kind) prices for each technology. NOAK for established technologies and FOAK for those technologies which are yet to be built in the UK or benefit from learning. These are appropriate comparators for current costs.
	The full report can be accessed via this link: http://www.decc.gov./uk/assets/decc/Statistics/Projections/71-uk-electricity-generation-costs-update-. pdf.
	
		
			 Table 1: 10% discount rate, 2009 project start at today's EPC prices, with mixed FOAK/NOAK 
			 Levelised cost Gas CCGT Gas CCGT with CCS (FOAK) ASC Coal ASC Coal with CCS (FOAK) Coal IGCC (FOAK) Coal IGCC with CCS (FOAK) Onshore wind Offshore wind (FOAK) Offshore wind R3 (FOAK) Nuclear PWR (FOAK) 
			 Capital Costs 12.4 29.8 33.4 74.1 61.7 82.0 79.2 124.1 144.6 77.3 
			 Fixed operating costs 3.7 7.7 8.6 18.6 9.7 17.7 14.6 36.7 45.8 12.2 
			 Variable operating costs 2.3 3.6 2.2 4.7 3.4 4.6 - - - 2.1 
			 Fuel Costs 46.9 65.0 19.9 28.7 20.3 28.3 - - - 5.3 
			 Carbon Costs 15.1 2.1 40.3 6.5 39.6 5.5 - - - - 
			 Decomm and waste fund - - - - - - - - - 2.1 
			 CO2 transport and storage - 4.3 - 9.6 - 9.5 - - - - 
			 Steam Revenue - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Total levelised cost 80.3 112.5 104.5 142.1 134.6 147.6 93.9 160.9 190.5 99.0 
		
	
	Source: Mott Macdonald (2010), UK Electricity Generation Costs Update, available at: http:/www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/Statistics/Projections/71-uk-electricity-generation-costs-update-.pdf.
	It should be noted that the estimates of levelised costs for different types of electricity generation are highly sensitive to the assumptions used for capital costs, fuel and EU ETS allowance prices, operating costs, load factor, and other drivers. Meaning that there is significant uncertainty around these estimates.
	In the year 2017, assuming that all technologies have been built at least once in the UK, the following NOAK costs may apply to all technologies, however, it should be noted that these costs are not considered achievable today.
	
		
			 Table 2: 10% discount rate, 2017 start at projected EPC prices, all NOAK 
			 Levelised cost Gas CCGT Gas CCGT with CCS ASC Coal ASC Coal with CCS Coal IGCC Coal IGCC with CCS Onshore wind Offshore wind Offshore wind R3 Nuclear PWR 
			 Capital Costs 11.2 20.7 28.7 47.8 33.7 46.5 71.7 89.4 97.0 49.6 
			 Fixed operating costs 3.7 6.0 8.6 13.8 8.0 12.3 - 23.0 30.9 9.1 
			 Variable operating costs 2.3 3.6 2.2 3.7 2.7 3.6 - - - 1.8 
			 Fuel   
			 Costs 49.8 64.7 19.9 27.6 19.6 27.2 - - - 5.2 
			 Carbon Costs 29.6 4.1 73.8 11.4 72.0 10.0 - - - - 
			 Decomm and waste fund - - - - - - - - - 2.1 
			 CO2 transport and storage - 3.5 - 7.6 - 7.5 - - - - 
			 Steam Revenue - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Total levelised cost 96.5 102.6 133.2 111.9 136.0 107.1 86.3 112.4 127.9 67.8 
		
	
	Source: Mott Macdonald (2010), UK Electricity Generation Costs Update, available at: http:/www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/Statistics/Projections/71-uk-electricity-generation-costs-update-.pdf.

Energy: Prices

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government what current and future prices per barrel of oil were used to calculate the figures in the Carbon Plan published on 8 March 2011.

Lord Marland: The £110 billion investment figure on page 7 of the Carbon Plan, which is from the Electricity Market Reform: Consultation Document (DECC 2010), used the central scenario in the latest published fossil fuel price assumptions from the Department of Energy and Climate Change. These prices are:
	
		
			 Scenario 2-Timely Investment, Moderate Demand 
			 2008 prices Oil-Brent Gas-NBP Coal-ARA 
			 Year $/barrel p/therm $/tonne 
			 2008 102 58 147 
			 2010 70 58 110 
			 2015 75 63 80 
			 2020 80 67 80 
			 2025 85 71 80 
			 2030 90 74 80 
		
	
	The full range of fossil fuel price assumption can be found in the document Communication on DECC Fossil Fuel Price Assumptions at: http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/projections/projections.aspx.
	The other figures in the Carbon Plan (8 March 2011) do not require a specific oil price assumption.

EU: Solvency II Directive

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost of the implementation of Solvency II requirements by the United Kingdom insurance industry; whether it will be proportionate to the benefit to insured parties; and how they intend to gather evidence on this process.

Lord Sassoon: The costs for implementation of Solvency II cannot be sensibly estimated yet as the rules are not yet finalised.
	The Government continue to work closely with the Financial Services Authority and with industry to ensure a full understanding of the costs associated with implementation of Solvency II requirements, both for industry and policyholders.

Finance: Retail Distribution Review

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Wilcox on 1 March (WA 307), whether enterprises that provide financial advice will be able to take their own decisions about pricing based on individual business needs after the introduction of the Retail Distribution Review.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Wilcox on 1 March (WA 307), what assessment they have made of the effect that the Retail Distribution Review will have on prices charged for the provision of financial advice.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Wilcox on 1 March (WA 307), what assessment they have made of the effect that the Retail Distribution Review will have on the market relating to the provision of financial advice.

Lord Sassoon: The Retail Distribution Review (RDR) is an initiative of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), an independent body, and as such it is responsible for considering the impacts of the RDR.
	The FSA published an assessment of the impact of the RDR that it commissioned from Oxera, Retail Distribution Review Proposals: Impact on Market Structure and Competition, in March 2010. The report considers the impact of the RDR on the price of both advice services and products following the RDR, suggesting that there is a risk of higher product prices in the short term but that in the longer term these higher prices may be competed away.
	Firms offering investment advice will be able to set their own charges, subject to their duties to act in accordance with the best interests of their clients. The FSA's new rules, which come into force at the end of 2012, require firms that give investment advice to determine and use appropriate charging structures. The FSA will be requiring firms that give advice to take their own decisions about how to price their services, rather than product providers determining how much adviser firms are paid.

Fluoridation

Earl Baldwin of Bewdley: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 20 December 2010 (WA 248-9), (a) what status an uncontrolled comparison of dental decay figures in one city with another has in the hierarchy of medical evidence, and (b) whether their claim for a beneficial effect of water fluoridation in Birmingham compared with Manchester takes account of the absence of supporting studies in the report of the York systematic scientific review which they commissioned in 1999.

Earl Howe: It would in our view be very difficult to design a research study of a population- based intervention such as fluoridation to meet the level "A" criteria set in the York review. For example, it would be neither ethical nor practical to prevent people in the experimental (fluoridated) area using fluoride toothpaste, which would be an obvious confounding factor. Accordingly we consider we are justified in citing the finding of retrospective cross-sectional studies and epidemiological surveys as evidence of the effects of fluoridation. No persuasive alternative explanations have been offered as to why levels of tooth decay among children in the West Midlands, where the water is fluoridated, are less than half that experienced by children in Greater Manchester where no adjustment is made to the level of fluoride in the water. At a more local level, the 2007-08 National Health Service dental survey of five year-olds shows that children in fluoridated Mansfield had an average of 0.56 decayed, missing and filled teeth compared to a figure of 1.73 in nearby Nottingham where no adjustment is made to the water.

Food: Global Sustainability

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will respond to the report by Foresight, The Future of Food and Farming: Challenges and choices for global sustainability.

Lord Henley: Defra and DfID will be jointly acting on the Foresight report's findings and will strongly encourage others to do the same. A concerted, integrated approach by national governments, international institutions, the private sector and civil society is crucial for global food security, as is making the links with climate change, poverty, biodiversity, energy and other policies.

Forests: Access Rights

Lord Pendry: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that equestrians and cyclists can enjoy access rights in perpetuity equivalent to those enjoyed by walkers in most of the public forestry estate.

Lord Henley: An independent panel of experts is going to examine forestry policy in England and report back to Ministers in the autumn.

Government Departments: Energy Certificates

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay: To ask Her Majesty's Government what level of Display Energy Certificate was awarded to the Attorney General's Office building at 20 Victoria Street in each of the past three years.

Lord Wallace of Tankerness: The Attorney-General's Office at 20 Victoria Street has been awarded a display energy certificate at level G for each of the past three years.
	The Cabinet Office now routinely publishes energy ratings for the Government estate, this information can be found at: http://www.ogc.gov.uk/government_ delivery_display_energy_certificate_data.asp.

Government Departments: Energy Certificates

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay: To ask Her Majesty's Government what level of display energy certificate was awarded to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills at 1 Victoria Street in each of the past three years.

Baroness Wilcox: The display energy certificates levels for 1 Victoria Street for the past three years are as follows:
	2010-E (109)
	2009-E (107)
	2008-F (130)

Government: Funding

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Local Government Association about the reductions in government funding in the years 2010-11 to 2014-15.

Baroness Hanham: The Secretary of State for the Department for Communities and Local Government and his ministerial team have met representatives of the Local Government Association 51 times. A range of issues have been discussed, including central government funding.

Gypsies and Travellers

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government how the new homes bonus will benefit Gypsies, Roma and Travellers.

Baroness Hanham: The new homes bonus will enable local authorities to deliver authorised Traveller sites in the same way as other homes. We will match fund the council tax payable on all increases in homes recorded on a local authority's valuation list. Where a Traveller site is also classed as an affordable home, the local authority will also receive a £350 affordable homes premium.

Keydata Investment Services

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will order an inquiry into the collapse of Keydata Investment Services and the contribution, if any, of regulatory failures.

Lord Sassoon: The Government are following the situation that has arisen from the collapse of Keydata Investment Services (KIS) closely and understand that this is a complex issue that has had serious implications for a number of people and firms.
	However, the Financial Services Authority is still investigating the issues surrounding KIS and the Government feel that it would not be appropriate to comment on this matter before this investigation is completed.

Medical Practitioners: Non-EU Nations

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what number of (a) European Economic Area, and (b) non-European Economic Area, medical practitioners came to the United Kingdom in each of the past three years; how many such new practitioners were registered with the General Medical Council; and what proportion of new registrations in those years were by United Kingdom medical school graduates and by non-United Kingdom medical school graduates.

Earl Howe: The Home Office records details of the certificate of sponsorships issued to medical practitioners. However, the data only cover non-European Economic Area (EEA) medical practitioners, as EEA individuals have free movement and do not require work visas. The number of certificates of sponsorships that have been issued in and out of country to medical practitioners since 2008 is in table 1 as follows. The United Kingdom immigration systems cannot accurately confirm entry following a successful visa application.
	
		
			 Table 1. Number of non-EEA Medical Practitioners issued with a Certificate of Sponsorship 
			 Job Type In/Out of Country 2008 2009 2010 2011 Total 
			  In Country 1 975 1,193 176 2,345 
			 Medical practitioners eg doctors and surgeons Out of country 3 1,251 1,413 207 2,874 
			 Total  4 2,226 2,606 383 5,219 
		
	
	Source: United Kingdom Border Agency
	Tables 2 and 3 detail data from the General Medical Council (GMC) on first time registrants broken down by country of primary medical qualification (PMQ) and not by nationality. The data are just the entry to the register; this is no indication of whether a medical practitioner has moved to the UK or if they are working here.
	
		
			 Table 2. First Time Registrants split by UK and non-UK Primary Medical qualification 
			  Number of First Time Registrants 
			 PMQ 2008 2009 2010 
			 Non-UK PMQ 4,989 4,920 5,919 
			 UK PMQ 6,770 6,876 7,010 
			 Total 11,759 11,796 12,929 
		
	
	Source: GMC
	
		
			 Table 3. First Time Registrants spilt by UK, EEA and International Region of Primary Medical Qualification 
			  Number of First Time Registrants 
			 PMQ 2008 2009 2010 
			 EEA 2,163 2,341 2,960' 
			 International Medical Graduate 2,826 2,579 2,959 
			 UK 6,770 6,876 7,010 
			 Total 11,759 11,796 12,929 
		
	
	Source: GMC

Monetary Policy

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will review the reasons why the monetary aggregate "M4 less intermediate other financial companies" is not growing in real terms; and whether they propose to take any action.

Lord Sassoon: The Monetary Policy committee (MPC) of the Bank of England has operational responsibility for monetary policy.
	The Bank of England publishes a quarterly inflation report that sets out detailed economic analysis and inflation projections on which the Monetary Policy Committee bases its decisions. Section 1 of the February 2010 inflation report discusses recent developments in money and asset prices. According to the report, the weakness of broad money growth relative to its pre-crisis level reflects subdued growth in households and private non-financial corporations money, although the latter has recovered somewhat since the end of 2008.

Smoking

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to extending the ban on smoking to public places that are not enclosed.

Earl Howe: On 9 March 2011, the Government published a new Tobacco Control Plan for England, which draws attention to the harmful effects of second-hand smoke, both in the home and in family cars. The plan sets out various actions the Government will be taking to encourage smokers to protect others from second-hand smoke in homes and private vehicles, especially where children are present. Rather than extending the smoke-free legislation, we want people to recognise the dangers of second-hand smoke and then take voluntary action to make their homes and cars smoke-free.
	Alongside the Tobacco Control Plan was published The Impact of Smokefree Legislation in England: Evidence Review by Professor Linda Bauld. We have carefully considered this peer-reviewed research evidence, which has informed the development of the policies in the Tobacco Control Plan.
	Copies of both publications have already been placed in the Library.

Sudan

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of whether Sudan is a state sponsor of terrorism.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We have no formal criteria for designating countries as state sponsors of terrorism. However we routinely assess the global terrorist threat to the UK. These assessments are based on intelligence and other sensitive information which we do not comment on publicly.

Transport: Heavy Goods Vehicles Operating Centres

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received from local authorities or the police about the suitability of public roads leading to and from (a) heavy goods vehicle, and (b) public service vehicle, operating centres.

Earl Attlee: The statutorily independent traffic commissioners consider representations including any representations received from local authorities or the police. We advise parties who contact the Department for Transport to make contact with an appropriate traffic commissioner who must consider every representation received including any relating to the suitability of access to and from a proposed operating centre.

Transport: MoT Scheme

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish the result of their review of the requirement to carry out MoT tests on new vehicles after three years and annually thereafter.

Earl Attlee: We do intend to review the MoT test scheme, using the latest information available, and have had a number of meetings with representatives of the MoT trade to discuss this issue. We will shortly be meeting with industry to determine what should be included in the review and no decisions have been made as yet.
	We expect to make an announcement about the timing and scope of the review later this year and there will be an opportunity for anyone with an interest to contribute to the debate.